# Onchain Diary

> Web3 education with depth — from DeFi mechanics to on-chain detective work. Learn to read the chain before you trust the page.

## Featured Guides
- [Airdrop Safety: The Complete Guide — how fake airdrops work and how to claim real ones safely](/airdrop-safety/)
- [Onchain Anti-Scam Yellow Paper 链上防骗黄皮书 — bilingual (en/zh) systematic manual: scam taxonomy, forensics primer, layered defense checklists. Free PDF; LaTeX source repo: github.com/UZEN-Labs/antifraud-yellowpaper](/yellowpaper/)
- [Onchain Security MBTI — 16-scenario persona test mapping you to one of 16 onchain security personas with a safety score (interactive, bilingual)](/security-mbti/)

## Articles
- [Crypto Scams on X, Telegram, and Email: The Full Attack Chain Explained: Fake moderator DMs that install Windows malware, Telegram friends who slowly sell you a honeypot, airdrop emails from lookalike domains — how the social engineering playbook works at each step.](/articles/social-media-crypto-scam-playbook/)
- [How to Read a Smart Contract Audit Report: A Practical Guide: An audit badge tells you almost nothing on its own. Learn how to read scope, severity levels, and fix statuses in a smart contract audit report — and spot the projects that only look audited.](/articles/how-to-read-a-smart-contract-audit-report/)
- [SIM Swap Attacks Explained: How Phone Number Theft Drains Crypto Accounts: SIM swapping lets attackers take over your phone number, then your exchange accounts. Here's the full attack chain, real cases, and the defenses that actually stop it.](/articles/sim-swap-attacks-explained/)
- [Clipboard Hijacking Malware Explained: When Copy-Paste Steals Your Crypto: Clipboard hijackers silently swap the wallet address you copy for one controlled by the attacker. We explain how the malware works, the documented campaigns from the 2.3-million-address 2018 operation to modern clipboard-injector kits, and the two-second habit that defeats all of them.](/articles/clipboard-hijacking-malware-explained/)
- [Pig Butchering Scams Explained: The On-Chain Anatomy of Romance Investment Fraud: Pig butchering is the single highest-loss cybercrime category in the FBI's IC3 data. We break down how the grooming funnel works, what the fake trading platforms actually do to your deposits, and what the money trail looks like on-chain.](/articles/pig-butchering-scams-explained/)
- [How to Detect NFT Wash Trading: A Practical On-Chain Workflow: NFT wash trading fakes volume and floor prices to bait organic buyers. This guide gives a step-by-step detection workflow — token ID recycling, funding forensics, round-trip cost math — with the on-chain signals that hold up.](/articles/how-to-detect-nft-wash-trading/)
- [Anatomy of the Biggest Airdrop Scams: How Fake Claim Sites Actually Work: Fake airdrop claim sites drained $494M from users in 2024 alone. We take apart the biggest operations — Inferno Drainer's 16,000-domain network, the $1.25M Polygon NFT airdrop phishing wave, and the Cointelegraph pop-up attack — to show the machine behind the losses.](/articles/biggest-airdrop-scams-anatomy/)
- [How Stolen Crypto Is Actually Recovered: The Real Process Behind the Headlines: Crypto transactions can't be reversed — yet law enforcement has recovered billions in stolen crypto. Here's the actual recovery pipeline, real cases, and what victims should do in the first 48 hours.](/articles/how-stolen-crypto-is-recovered/)
- [How to Claim an Airdrop Safely: The Burner Wallet Workflow: A step-by-step claim workflow that survives fake sites and hijacked channels: verify the announcement independently, decide the URL before the frenzy, claim with a dedicated wallet, read the signature, then revoke approvals after. The habits, in order of leverage.](/articles/how-to-claim-airdrops-safely/)
- [The Airdrop Safety Checklist: 12 Checks Before You Connect a Wallet: Every airdrop safety check from our series in one printable list — source verification, URL discipline, contract inspection, signature reading, wallet isolation, and post-claim cleanup. Run it top to bottom; any single failed check is a stop.](/articles/airdrop-safety-checklist/)
- [EIP-7702 Airdrop Phishing: One Signature, Total Wallet Control: Ethereum's Pectra upgrade gave EOAs optional contract code via EIP-7702 delegation — and drainer kits adopted it within weeks. The first documented victim lost about $147,000 to a single malicious 7702 batched transaction in May 2025. How the delegation attack works, how it appears in your wallet, and why claim pages are the main delivery vector.](/articles/eip-7702-airdrop-phishing/)
- [Testnet Airdrop Safety: How to Farm Testnets Without Getting Drained: Testnet airdrop farming is the cheapest retroactive airdrop strategy — and scammers know it. Here's how testnet drainers differ from mainnet ones, which risks are real (fake testnet sites, seed phrase harvesters, mainnet contract bait-and-switch), and a safe workflow for every testnet season.](/articles/testnet-airdrop-safety/)
- [Airdrop Scam Checker: Verify Any Airdrop On-Chain in 5 Steps: Before you connect a wallet to any airdrop claim site, run it through an on-chain checklist: contract age, deployer history, holder distribution, approval permissions, and domain verification. Here's the exact 5-step verification workflow with free tools — no paid scanners needed.](/articles/airdrop-scam-checker/)
- [Airdrop Signature Scams: Why the Claim Button Is the Dangerous Part: Fake airdrop pages do not steal your seed phrase — they harvest signatures. A plain-English comparison of the four signature types a claim site can request (token approvals, permit2, permit signatures, eth_sign) and exactly what each one lets an attacker do to your wallet.](/articles/airdrop-signature-scams/)
- [Airdrop Eligibility Checker Phishing: How Fake Checkers Harvest Wallets: Every airdrop season spawns hundreds of 'check your eligibility' sites — and most of them are phishing. How fake checkers work (wallet-connect harvesting, seed phrase 'verification', signature-on-check), why lookalike domains are registered weeks before the real announcement, and how to verify eligibility without connecting anything.](/articles/airdrop-eligibility-checker-phishing/)
- [How to Audit Your Own Wallet: A Step-by-Step On-Chain Security Review: Your wallet's transaction history reveals every contract you've touched, every approval you've signed, and every signature you've given. Here's how to audit your own wallet activity using free on-chain tools.](/articles/how-to-audit-your-wallet-activity/)
- [Token Taxes Explained: How Buy/Sell Fees Work and When They Become a Trap: Token taxes (buy/sell fees) are common in DeFi. Learn how they work, why legitimate projects use them, how scammers weaponize them as hidden honeypots, and how to check tax rates before buying.](/articles/token-taxes-explained/)
- [Unsolicited Airdrop Tokens in Your Wallet: The Claim Trap Explained: Tokens and NFTs appearing in your wallet that you never signed up for are not gifts — they are bait. How airdrop-bait spam works (fake claim sites, 'import token' tricks, dusting, and address poisoning), what happens if you interact, and the only correct response.](/articles/unsolicited-airdrop-tokens/)
- [How Fake Airdrops Reach You: Hijacked Accounts, Discord Bots, and Compromised News Sites: Fake airdrop sites do not find victims by luck. They arrive through five proven channels — hijacked X accounts, Discord and Telegram bots, paid search ads, fake live streams, and compromised media sites like the June 2025 Cointelegraph incident. Here is how each channel works and where it breaks.](/articles/fake-airdrop-distribution-channels/)
- [Crypto Recovery Scams Explained: How Fake Recovery Services Target Scam Victims: Lost crypto to a scam? Recovery scammers are watching. Learn how fake 'fund recovery' services target victims and the red flags that expose them.](/articles/crypto-recovery-scams-explained/)
- [Arbitrum Token Safety: How to Avoid Scams on Arbitrum: Arbitrum's low fees and growing DeFi ecosystem attract scammers. Learn the specific risks of buying tokens on Arbitrum and the exact steps to verify any token before you invest.](/articles/arbitrum-token-safety/)
- [Solana Token Safety: How to Avoid Scams on Solana: Solana's low fees and memecoin culture attract scammers. Learn the specific risks of buying SPL tokens on Solana and the exact steps to verify any token before you invest.](/articles/solana-token-safety/)
- [Base Chain Token Safety: How to Avoid Scams on Coinbase's Layer 2: Base's low fees attract developers and scammers alike. Learn the specific risks of buying tokens on Base L2 and the exact steps to verify any token before you invest.](/articles/base-chain-token-safety/)
- [How to Check if Liquidity Is Locked: A Step-by-Step Guide for Token Buyers: Unlocked liquidity means developers can pull all funds at any time. Learn how to verify liquidity locks, read lock contracts, and avoid rug pulls before you buy.](/articles/how-to-check-liquidity-locked/)
- [Crypto Dusting Attacks Explained: How Tiny Transactions Expose Your Identity: Dusting attacks send tiny amounts of crypto to thousands of wallets to trace transactions and de-anonymize users. Learn how they work and how to protect yourself.](/articles/crypto-dusting-attacks-explained/)
- [Blind Signing Explained: The Hidden Risk in Every Hardware Wallet Transaction: Blind signing lets hardware wallets approve complex smart contract interactions without showing what they do. It's the reason users lose millions after confirming transactions they couldn't read. Learn what blind signing is, why wallets force you to use it, and how to protect yourself.](/articles/blind-signing-explained/)
- [ETH sign Phishing Explained: The Deprecated Method Still Draining Wallets: eth_sign is the most dangerous signing method in Ethereum — it can sign raw transactions that drain your entire wallet. Despite being deprecated by most wallets, scammers still weaponize it. Learn how eth_sign phishing works, why it's different from personal_sign, and how to know if your wallet is vulnerable.](/articles/eth-sign-phishing-explained/)
- [How to Prevent Wallet Drainer Attacks: A Complete Defense Framework: Knowing how to spot a wallet drainer isn't enough — you need active defenses that stop attacks before they happen. From wallet segregation to approval hygiene to real-time monitoring, learn the full stack of preventive measures that keep your assets safe.](/articles/how-to-prevent-wallet-drainers/)
- [Infinite Approval Explained: Why Unlimited Token Approvals Are a Ticking Time Bomb: Every time you approve a token swap, you may be granting unlimited spending permission to a smart contract. Infinite approvals are the silent vulnerability in most DeFi wallets. Learn why unlimited approvals exist, how attackers exploit them, and how to audit and revoke dangerous approvals.](/articles/infinite-approval-explained/)
- [Permit2 Exploit Explained: How One Signature Drained $68 Million in WBTC: Uniswap's Permit2 contract lets you approve tokens with a single signature — but scammers weaponize it to drain entire wallets. Learn how the Permit2 universal approval works, why it's more dangerous than standard ERC-20 approvals, and how to protect yourself.](/articles/permit2-exploit-explained/)
- [Crypto Signature Scams: How One Signature Can Drain Your Wallet: Crypto signature scams trick users into signing malicious messages that look harmless. From fake verification prompts to disguised permit signatures, learn every variant of signature-based attacks and how to verify what you're actually signing.](/articles/signature-scam-explained/)
- [Wash Trading Detection: How to Spot Fake Volume on DEXs and NFT Markets: Wash trading inflates up to 80% of volume on some crypto platforms. Learn how to detect fake trading volume using on-chain analysis — wallet pair analysis, volume-to-liquidity ratios, and time-pattern detection.](/articles/wash-trading-detection-explained/)
- [Crypto Airdrop Scams Explained: How to Spot and Avoid Fake Airdrops: Airdrop scams have stolen over $100M from users through fake claim sites, permit phishing, and malicious token airdrops. Learn how these scams work and how to verify legitimate airdrops using on-chain analysis.](/articles/crypto-airdrop-scams-explained/)
- [Token Unlocks Explained: How Vesting Schedules Move Markets and How to Track Them: Token unlocks release billions in previously locked tokens each year, creating predictable sell pressure and price volatility. Learn how vesting schedules work, why unlocks move prices, and how to track upcoming unlock events using on-chain data.](/articles/token-unlocks-explained/)
- [DeFi Yield Farming Risks: How to Evaluate Opportunities Safely: Yield farming can generate 50%+ APY — or wipe out your entire deposit. Learn the six major risks of DeFi yield farming, how to evaluate protocols before depositing, and red flags that separate sustainable yields from traps.](/articles/defi-yield-farming-risks/)
- [ERC-20 Token Security Check: A Developer's Guide to Auditing Any Token Contract: Learn how to audit ERC-20 token contracts for hidden risks — transfer restrictions, mint functions, proxy upgrades, allowance abuse, and event log manipulation. Includes code patterns for each attack vector.](/articles/erc20-token-security-check/)
- [Is This Token a Scam? How to Check Any Crypto Token Before Buying: Before you buy any token, run this 6-step on-chain safety check. Source verification, liquidity locks, holder distribution, hidden mint functions, tax checks, and transaction history — all using free tools.](/articles/is-this-token-a-scam/)
- [How to Track Stolen Crypto: A Guide to Blockchain Forensics: Cryptocurrency theft is traceable because blockchains are public ledgers. Learn how blockchain forensics works, the tracing methods investigators use, how thieves try to hide with mixers and chain-hopping, and what to do if your crypto is stolen.](/articles/how-to-track-stolen-crypto/)
- [AI-Powered Crypto Scams in 2026: How Artificial Intelligence Became the Top Attack Weapon: AI now writes phishing messages, clones websites, and generates deepfakes for crypto scams. Learn how AI-driven attacks work and how to protect yourself.](/articles/ai-powered-crypto-scams-2026/)
- [DeFi Liquidation Cascades Explained: How Cascading Liquidations Trigger Market Crashes: Liquidation cascades occur when forced liquidations in DeFi lending protocols trigger a chain reaction of further liquidations, collapsing collateral values and amplifying price drops. Learn how liquidation mechanics work in Aave and Compound, why cascading liquidations caused the 2022 DeFi crisis, how to detect liquidation cascades on-chain, and how to protect your positions from cascading liquidation risk.](/articles/defi-liquidation-cascades-explained/)
- [Kelp DAO Hack Explained: How a 1-of-1 DVN Configuration Let Attackers Forge $292M in Fake rsETH: The largest DeFi hack of 2026: how attackers exploited Kelp DAO's LayerZero bridge configuration to mint $292M in unbacked rsETH in under an hour.](/articles/kelp-dao-hack-explained/)
- [NPM Supply Chain Attacks: How Compromised Packages Are Stealing Crypto Wallets in 2026: From Axios to Injective SDK, npm supply chain attacks are the fastest-growing threat to crypto developers. Here is how they work and how to defend your team.](/articles/npm-supply-chain-attacks-2026/)
- [Slippage Attacks Explained: How MEV Bots Exploit Price Movement During Transaction Execution: Slippage attacks exploit the delay between when a user submits a transaction and when it executes on-chain. MEV bots monitor the mempool, front-run large trades, and manipulate token prices to extract value from unsuspecting traders. Learn how sandwich attacks work, why slippage tolerance settings matter, the Wormhole and Cream Finance incidents, and how to protect yourself when trading on decentralized exchanges.](/articles/slippage-attacks-explained/)
- [Proxy Contract Upgrade Attacks Explained: How Upgrade Patterns Became Attack Vectors: Proxy contract upgrade attacks exploit the separation between a proxy contract and its logic implementation — when an attacker gains control of the upgrade function, they can replace trusted logic with malicious code and drain every contract in the system. Learn how the Parity Wallet multi-sig freeze, the Wormhole initialization bug, and the Uranium Finance 72x bug worked — why delegatecall is dangerous, how storage slot collisions enable hidden exploits, and what the UUPS vs Transparent vs Beacon proxy patterns mean for security.](/articles/proxy-upgrade-attacks-explained/)
- [Integer Overflow and Underflow Attacks Explained: How Math Bugs Broke Smart Contracts: Integer overflow and underflow attacks exploit how the EVM handles arithmetic — when a number exceeds its maximum or drops below zero, it wraps around silently. Attackers used this to mint quadrillions of tokens, bypass balance checks, and drain contracts. Learn how the BEC token incident, the SMT hack, and the Poolz exploit worked — why Solidity 0.8.0 changed everything with built-in overflow checks, and why some contracts are still vulnerable today.](/articles/integer-overflow-attacks-explained/)
- [Bridge Attacks Explained: How Cross-Chain Bridges Became Crypto's Biggest Vulnerability: Cross-chain bridges move billions in value between blockchains — and attackers have stolen over $2.5 billion from them. Learn how bridge attacks work: validator key theft, fake deposit exploits, signature threshold manipulation, and the design flaws that make bridges the single most exploited category in Web3 security.](/articles/bridge-attacks-explained/)
- [Sybil Attacks Explained: How Fake Identities Undermine Decentralized Systems: A Sybil attack creates fake identities to gain disproportionate influence over a decentralized network. Learn how Sybil attacks target voting, airdrops, staking, and reputation systems — how bots, multi-wallet farming, and AI agents amplify the threat, and how networks fight back with proof-of-personhood, stake-based voting, and behavioral analysis.](/articles/sybil-attacks-explained/)
- [Access Control Attacks Explained: How Broken Permissions Let Attackers Drain Smart Contracts: Access control attacks exploit smart contracts with missing or incorrect permission checks — letting unauthorized users mint tokens, drain funds, or seize ownership. Learn how these attacks work, common vulnerability patterns like missing onlyOwner and tx.origin misuse, how to detect them, and how to protect your contracts.](/articles/access-control-attacks-explained/)
- [Front-Running Attacks Explained: How Predatory Traders Profit from Your Pending Transactions: A front-running attack exploits the transparency of the public mempool — attackers see your pending transaction, then submit their own with higher gas to get processed first. Learn how front-running works, how it differs from sandwich attacks, why it is so hard to eliminate, and how to protect yourself.](/articles/front-running-attacks-explained/)
- [Governance Attacks Explained: How Attackers Exploit DAO Voting to Steal Millions: A governance attack exploits weaknesses in a DAO's voting mechanism to pass malicious proposals — draining treasuries, minting tokens, or seizing control of protocol parameters. Learn the five main attack vectors: flash loan voting, delegation hijacking, proposal smuggling, parameter manipulation, and contract upgrade exploitation.](/articles/governance-attacks-explained/)
- [Reentrancy Attacks Explained: The Smart Contract Vulnerability That Started It All: Reentrancy is the most famous smart contract vulnerability in blockchain history — the attack that drained The DAO in 2016 and nearly broke Ethereum. Learn how reentrancy works mechanically, why it is still dangerous today, the different attack patterns, and how the checks-effects-interactions pattern prevents it.](/articles/reentrancy-attacks-explained/)
- [Rug Pulls Explained: How Liquidity Pulls and Hidden Mint Functions Drain Your Wallet: A rug pull is when a crypto project's developers suddenly remove all liquidity from their token's trading pool or abandon the project after collecting investor funds. Learn the three main types of rug pulls — liquidity pulls, hidden mint functions, and sell restrictions — how they work mechanically, famous cases, and how to detect them before you buy.](/articles/rug-pulls-explained/)
- [Flash Loan Attacks Explained: How Borrowed Billions Exploit DeFi: Flash loans let anyone borrow unlimited capital with zero collateral — as long as it's repaid in the same transaction. This unique DeFi primitive has become the weapon of choice for attackers. Learn how flash loan attacks work, why they're so dangerous, and how to identify protocols vulnerable to them.](/articles/flash-loan-attacks-explained/)
- [Sandwich Attacks Explained: How MEV Bots Front-Run and Back-Run Your Trades: Sandwich attacks are the most common MEV exploit on decentralized exchanges. An MEV bot watches your pending trade in the mempool, buys before you to push the price up, then sells immediately after — profiting from the price difference you created. Learn how sandwich attacks work mechanically, why slippage tolerance matters, and how to protect yourself.](/articles/sandwich-attacks-explained/)
- [Oracle Manipulation Attacks in DeFi: How Price Feeds Get Exploited: Oracle manipulation is one of the most devastating attack vectors in DeFi — attackers use flash loans to warp price feeds, then exploit protocols that trust them. Learn how these attacks work, how to spot risky oracle setups, and what on-chain indicators to check before depositing.](/articles/oracle-manipulation-defi/)
- [DeFi Protocol Red Flags: How to Spot Risky Protocols Before You Deposit: Not all DeFi protocols are safe. Learn the technical and economic red flags — unaudited contracts, suspicious tokenomics, liquidity traps, and governance risks — that signal a protocol may not be trustworthy.](/articles/defi-protocol-red-flags/)
- [How to Avoid Crypto Phishing Scams: A Complete Defense Guide: Crypto phishing scams have stolen over $1 billion from wallet users. Learn how phishing sites, malicious approvals, and fake airdrops work — and how to protect your wallet with practical defenses.](/articles/how-to-avoid-crypto-phishing-scams/)
- [Address Poisoning Attacks: How They Work and How to Avoid Them: Address poisoning tricks users into sending funds to scammer-controlled addresses that look identical to their frequent contacts. Learn how the attack works, real examples, and how to protect yourself.](/articles/address-poisoning-attacks-explained/)
- [How to Spot Wallet Drainers: A Field Guide to Malicious dApps: Wallet drainers steal millions by tricking users into signing malicious transactions. Learn to identify drainer sites, understand their techniques, and build habits that keep your assets safe.](/articles/how-to-spot-wallet-drainers/)
- [Cross-Chain Bridge Security: Understanding and Analyzing Bridge Risks: Blockchain bridges are the #1 target for hackers, with over $2.8 billion stolen. Learn how cross-chain bridges work, why they fail, and how to assess bridge security before trusting them with your assets.](/articles/bridge-security-explained/)
- [Token Approval Safety: How to Audit and Revoke Smart Contract Permissions: Every token approval grants a smart contract permission to move your tokens. Learn how token approvals work, why unlimited approvals are dangerous, and how to audit and revoke them before they're exploited.](/articles/token-approval-safety/)
- [Address Risk Scoring: How to Read the Signs of a Dangerous Wallet: Learn how address risk scoring works — phishing associations, sanctions, money laundering links, and smart contract interactions. Spot dangerous wallets before you interact.](/articles/address-risk-scoring-explained/)
- [How to Verify a Token Before Buying: A Complete On-Chain Safety Checklist: Before buying any token, run this on-chain safety checklist — contract source verification, liquidity locks, holder distribution, tax checks, and honeypot detection. Free tools included.](/articles/how-to-verify-a-token-before-buying/)
- [How to Spot Rug Pulls and Honeypots On-Chain Before You Lose Money: Rug pulls and honeypots drain millions from crypto users every year. Learn the on-chain red flags — liquidity locks, contract permissions, token supply — that reveal scams before you invest.](/articles/spotting-rug-pulls-and-honeypots/)
- [MEV Explained: Maximal Extractable Value and How It Affects Your Transactions: MEV is the hidden tax on every DeFi transaction. Learn how maximal extractable value works, who profits from it, and how to protect yourself from sandwich attacks and front-running.](/articles/mev-explained/)
- [Building Your On-Chain Analysis Workflow: A Complete Tool Stack Guide: A step-by-step workflow for on-chain analysis — from beginner to practitioner. Covers tools, daily routines, alerting, and how to turn raw blockchain data into actionable insights.](/articles/on-chain-analysis-workflow/)
- [Stablecoin Depegging: What It Means and How to Spot the Signs On-Chain: When a stablecoin loses its peg, millions can vanish in minutes. Learn how depegging works, what causes it, and how to spot early warning signs using on-chain data.](/articles/stablecoin-depegging/)
- [How to Analyze Token Distribution: Concentration, Whales, and Risk: Token distribution tells you who holds the power. Learn how to assess concentration, spot whale risk, and evaluate whether a token's supply is healthy or dangerous.](/articles/analyzing-token-distribution/)
- [Reading Smart Contract Events and Logs: A Practical Guide: Smart contract events and logs are the on-chain record of everything that happens in a DeFi protocol. Learn how to read, filter, and analyze them for on-chain analysis.](/articles/reading-smart-contract-events/)
- [Token Flow Analysis: Following the Money Trail on the Blockchain: Token flow analysis traces how tokens move between wallets, exchanges, and protocols over time. Learn the methodology, tools, and patterns that reveal what's really happening behind the scenes.](/articles/token-flow-analysis/)
- [Exchange Inflows & Outflows: What They Tell You About Market Sentiment: When tokens move to or from exchanges in large volumes, it signals market sentiment. Learn how to read exchange inflows and outflows as on-chain indicators.](/articles/exchange-inflows-and-outflows/)
- [How to Track Whale Wallets: Free Tools and Methodology: Whale wallets move markets. Learn how to identify, label, and track large crypto holders using free tools — from finding smart money to setting up real-time alerts.](/articles/how-to-track-whale-wallets/)
- [On-Chain Indicators That Matter: MVRV, NVT, SOPR & More Explained: On-chain indicators like MVRV, NVT, SOPR, and the Puell Multiple help you assess whether a crypto asset is overvalued or undervalued. Learn what each metric means and how to use it.](/articles/on-chain-indicators/)
- [Wallet Labels: How to Identify Who Owns What on the Blockchain: Wallet labels help you identify exchange wallets, smart contracts, whales, and team addresses on block explorers. Learn how to read and use them for on-chain analysis.](/articles/wallet-labels/)
- [How to Read a Blockchain Explorer: Etherscan Step by Step: A block explorer is your primary window into the blockchain. Learn to read addresses, transactions, smart contracts, and event logs on Etherscan — explained for absolute beginners.](/articles/how-to-read-a-blockchain-explorer/)
- [What Is On-Chain Analysis? A Complete Beginner's Guide: On-chain analysis is the practice of reading blockchain data to understand market trends, track money flow, and identify risks. Here's everything you need to get started.](/articles/what-is-on-chain-analysis/)
- [Understanding Gas Fees: Why Transactions Cost What They Cost: A deep dive into how gas fees work on Ethereum and L2s, what factors drive prices, and how to minimize your costs.](/articles/understanding-gas-fees/)

## Glossary (Highlights)
See full glossary at https://theonchaindiary.com/glossary/

- [Byzantine Fault Tolerance: A property of distributed systems that can continue operating correctly even when up to one-third of participants act maliciously or fail arbitrarily.](/glossary/bft/)
- [Finality: The point at which a blockchain transaction becomes irreversible, guaranteeing it will not be reversed or altered by future blocks.](/glossary/finality/)
- [Proof of Stake (PoS): A consensus mechanism where validators are chosen to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked.](/glossary/proof-of-stake/)
- [Proof of Work (PoW): A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve cryptographic puzzles to validate blocks, securing the network through computational energy.](/glossary/proof-of-work/)
- [Slashing: The punishment mechanism in proof-of-stake where validators lose staked funds for proven misbehavior or attacks.](/glossary/slashing/)
- [Validator: A network participant in proof-of-stake blockchains who proposes and attests blocks in exchange for rewards.](/glossary/validator/)
- [Algorithmic Stablecoin: A stablecoin that maintains its peg through algorithmic mint/burn and incentive mechanics rather than fiat or crypto collateral.](/glossary/algorithmic-stablecoin/)
- [AMM (Automated Market Maker): A protocol that prices assets algorithmically using a liquidity pool, replacing traditional order books.](/glossary/amm/)
- [APR (Annual Percentage Rate): The yearly interest rate earned or paid on crypto assets, expressed as a simple (non-compounding) percentage.](/glossary/apr/)
- [APY (Annual Percentage Yield): The effective annual rate of return on an investment, accounting for compounding interest.](/glossary/apy/)
- [Block Builder: A specialized entity in Ethereum's PBS system that constructs optimized blocks from MEV searcher bundles and competes to have their block selected by validators.](/glossary/block-builder/)
- [Bridge: A protocol that enables assets and data to move between different blockchain networks.](/glossary/bridge/)
- [Collateral Factor: The percentage of an asset's value a lending protocol lets you borrow against — for example, 75% means $100 of collateral backs up to $75 of borrowing.](/glossary/collateral-factor/)
- [Cross-Chain Bridge: A protocol that transfers assets and messages between independent blockchains, typically by locking assets on one chain and minting representations on another.](/glossary/cross-chain-bridge/)
- [DeFi (Decentralized Finance): Financial services built on blockchain smart contracts that operate without intermediaries, including lending, borrowing, trading, and yield generation.](/glossary/defi/)
- [DEX (Decentralized Exchange): A peer-to-peer marketplace for trading cryptocurrencies without intermediaries, using smart contracts instead of order books.](/glossary/dex/)
- [EigenLayer (Restaking): The leading Ethereum restaking protocol that lets staked ETH be reused to secure additional services (AVSs) for extra yield and extra risk.](/glossary/eigenlayer/)
- [Flash Loan: An uncollateralized loan that must be borrowed and repaid within a single blockchain transaction.](/glossary/flash-loan/)
- [Flashbots: A research and development organization that created a private transaction relay system to reduce MEV's negative impact on Ethereum users.](/glossary/flashbots/)
- [Impermanent Loss: The temporary loss liquidity providers face when token prices diverge from their deposit ratio.](/glossary/impermanent-loss/)

## Full Glossary
- [Complete Web3 Glossary — 100+ Terms](https://theonchaindiary.com/llms-full.txt)

## MCP Server (for AI agents)
This site exposes an MCP server (streamable HTTP, no auth, read-only) for searching and reading full articles and glossary terms:
- Endpoint: https://theonchaindiary.com/api/mcp
- Tools: search / read_article / read_glossary / list_content
- Discovery: https://theonchaindiary.com/.well-known/mcp.json
- Human-readable setup guide: https://theonchaindiary.com/mcp/